


this year

by moonlitserenades



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-02 00:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2793503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlitserenades/pseuds/moonlitserenades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on this:<br/>"You live in the room next door to mine and you have been playing the mountain goats very loudly for the past five hours. are you. i mean. are you okay."</p><p>or: Barry goes to college. It is slightly harder than expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Felicity Smoak is so not uptight, okay. She is _not. _(Except when she is and it’s fine, it happens, but really she’s totally chill most of the time.) The point is that the problem is not the living on the co-ed floor of the dorms, nor is it the fact that her neighbor is apparently very hot. Not that she’d have noticed, but he left his door open while he was moving his stuff in yesterday, and she has _eyes._ (He’d lifted the hem of his t-shirt to wipe his sweaty brow at one point and she had literally almost walked into a wall.)__

__The point, actually, is that Felicity does not appreciate being woken up at 8:30 am when classes _haven’t even started yet_ by loud, nasal declamations of “I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.” _ _

__Not like she doesn’t get it. College is kind of scary or whatever, and she’s sort of missing her friends and family a bit already too. But still, _really_?_ _

__Turns out she can’t shut out the sound, so she ends up getting up and dressed, and decides that maybe this way she can actually achieve something today._ _

__(It’s not really that effective. She does go pick up her books and treat herself to a ridiculously indulgent cup of coffee. But then she ends up halfheartedly clicking around on her laptop for an inordinate amount of time while pretending she’s not sneaking admiring looks at the guy sitting broodingly in the corner who is most definitely Oliver Queen._ _

__Which, like, what is Oliver Queen doing here? Alone? In a tiny coffee shop, seemingly doing absolutely nothing? She stays as long as she can stomach it before realizing exactly how pathetic she probably looks and returning to her room a little dazedly.)_ _

_____I played video games in a drunken haze_  
I was 17 years young  
Hurt my knuckles punching the machines  
The taste of scotch rich on my tongue __

____Felicity blinks bemusedly as she passes room 211. The same song? Really? It’s been like (a glance at her watch) two _hours. _____ _ _

______But apparently her neighbor doesn’t get tired of music, ever, because Felicity has eaten lunch and watched a movie and he’s still playing it. It’s the last straw, and Felicity finds herself pushing her chair back from her desk, grabbing her keys, and striding purposefully down the hall._ _ _ _ _ _

______She raps three times on the door, and the song pauses, blissfully, for a second. “Hello?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Hey," she calls back, "just your friendly neighborhood…neighbor…" _Oh God. _____ _ _ _ _

________The song doesn’t restart, and a moment later, he opens the door. His eyes and nose are red and his hair is rumpled, and it looks like this may actually be the first time he’s gotten out of bed today. “Hi,” he says, and manages a grin that makes her heart flip a little. “I’m Barry. Allen. Sorry if I look like a mess.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Oh hey no it’s fine, you look great," she says, waving off the apology noncommittally. She freezes. "I mean. Or whatever. You look. Fine. You’re not a mess." _Dammit. _Flushing, she clears her throat and starts again. “I’m Felicity. Smoak.”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Hi," he says again, and smiles for real. "Uh…it’s nice to meet you, I haven’t really met anyone else on our floor yet."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I’m kinda honored." She grins. "Um, I actually came by to see if you were okay?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah, totally," he says, too quickly. "Thanks. Why, uh, why did you ask?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"It’s nothing really, you just…you’ve been listening to the same Mountain Goats song for like five hours and I got a little worried."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Oh. Oh, God, I’m sorry, I didn’t—I didn’t realize you could hear it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Oh, no biggie," she says breezily. "It just seems like the kind of song you might be listening to because you’re going through some emotional turmoil or something."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He reddens and ducks his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just been a weird couple of days.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"You wanna talk about it?" she offers, uncharacteristically bold. "I have ice cream and wine."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I—I don’t want to be an inconvenience or anything."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Don’t be a hero Barry Allen," she says, gravely. "You don’t even have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but everyone could use a good distraction now and then."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The smile he offers her is like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. (She’s mad at herself immediately for the triteness of the simile, and then she shuts herself up and appreciates the view.) “In that case, I guess it would be rude to refuse, wouldn’t it?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Completely," she says, playfully._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________(Felicity is not the kind of girl who normally nerds out about _Star Trek _, trades ridiculously cheesy pickup lines, and cuddles with relative strangers while slightly tipsy, but, well. Barry Allen might just be an exception.)___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has a little, tiny, miniscule, totally manageable problem.

It becomes a thing, them hanging out. She starts calling it Bitching with Barry in her head, mostly just because she really likes the alliteration. They don’t actually whine that much, considering, but it’s nice to have someone to talk to. Their schedules don’t line up particularly well, and they’ve both managed to find other friends with whom they have classes and stuff in common, but something about the way they’d met seems to have bonded them. So, usually about once a week, one of them will just start blasting some Mountain Goats song, as a sort of secret signal to the other that they’ve got a bit of free time. It would be easier and more efficient to text, or knock, probably, but they both like having something special that’s just theirs, and it had just kind of evolved that way. Felicity’d done it as a joke after that first time, but Barry had come over with chips and a concerned furrow to his brow and asked her if she wanted to talk about anything. 

(Turned out that even though she hadn’t thought she’d wanted to, it _did_ help to talk about her week. It wasn’t so much that it had been a particularly stressful one, but it was just sort of a lot. None of her teachers seemed to believe in the whole ‘ease them into the semester and the brand new college experience’ thing, and excellent time management skills aside, Felicity was already so tired.)

They’d exchanged numbers for convenience’s sake, too...those are mostly used for stupid puns and bad jokes, though. Every couple of days, one or both of them sends off something so painfully ridiculous that it leaves the other either in stitches or in fond exasperation. ( _What do you call an alligator in a vest?_ Barry had texted her the other day while she was in class. She’d sent off a string of question marks while still taking what she hoped were mostly meticulous notes, and gotten _an **investigator**_ back less than a minute later. She’d snorted so loudly half the class had turned to look at her, leaving her to mumble some ridiculous excuse about allergies and ask if she could be excused to find some tissues.)

Now, nearly two months into the semester, different songs have started to take on meaning. She’s not totally sure how they’d decided on what, or if they even had, or how they know what means what, on account of how they’ve never actually discussed it. But she knows that “Harlem Roulette” means ‘I should be doing things, but I don’t want to and I’m bored...you busy?’

She glances at the pile of books on her desk. Thinks about it for less than a minute. Closes the lid of her laptop, grabs a few bags of popcorn, slides her feet into her slippers, and shuffles out the door. Three knocks, like usual (when he comes over, it’s five. Always in the same rhythmic pattern). “It’s open,” he calls, and the song stops.

“Barry Allen,” she sing songs. He smiles, her favorite smile--too quick to be contrived, and so big and bright and warm that it’s kinda like a hug. ( _Oh God._ )

“Felicity Smoak,” he mimics, and they meet halfway for a hug. “How was your day?”

She half-shrugs, and almost accidentally dislodges his arm. “Can’t complain. Few quizzes and an exam, but I survived.”

He releases her and pulls back so she can see his sympathetic wince. “Got a care package from Iris and Joe today. I think you need the chocolate more than I do.” 

There’s something about the way he says Iris’s name. His eyes get softer, and he almost sort of sighs it. He’s in love with her, it’s obvious. Felicity prides herself on knowing these sorts of things--unless it involves her. In that case she is, of course, totally useless at it. But whenever she hears someone say the name of the person they’re in love with, or sees them looking at each other, she just knows. She’d be happy for him, if she could tell whether his feelings were requited. And she definitely doesn’t have a tiny knot of jealousy in her stomach. That would be ridiculous. What does she have to be jealous of? It’s not like she’s in love with Barry or something.

...right?

“I don’t wanna take your present,” she objects halfheartedly.

He arches an eyebrow at her and digs around in his bottom desk drawer, emerging with an entire box filled with candy and snacks, a few CDs, what looks like a hand-knitted scarf...now Felicity is definitely at least a little jealous. “I think I’m good,” he says casually, and passes her the box. “I’m gonna go make this popcorn, pick your poison.”

He disappears through the door, humming quietly to himself, and she starts digging through the box. There’s a card in here, already so well-worn that it’s clear he’s thumbed through it several times. Felicity is so not nosy and this is so far from her business, and she is not going to read her friend’s personal mail.

Really. She’s not.

She liberates a package of Twix and a box junior mints and she does not take out the card. She does not flip it open and skim it quickly ( _Hey Barry-- Missing you like crazy as usual. It’s weirdly quiet without you, ya know? Anyway, I have a bunch to tell you...skype soon? Can’t wait to see your ridiculous face again. ;) Love, Iris_ ) because that would make her a bad person. 

He opens the door. Felicity drops the card guiltily and plonks down onto her usual spot on his bed. “Hey,” he says cheerfully, completely without suspicion.

“Heyyy,” she manages, forcing an innocent grin. He sprawls out beside her, yanks open the bag of popcorn, and holds it out to her. She grabs a handful and grins at him gratefully. “Now that you know that my brain is melted, how was your day?”

“Can’t complain.” He shrugs lazily. “It always cheers me up to hear from the Wests.”

“They seem to love you a lot,” she says carefully, and he nods. He still looks contentedly soft and peaceful. “Are you going to call them?”

“Oh, I did,” he replies. “They seem happy. I _am_ probably gonna skype Iris later though.”

“Good. That’s good.”

He turns toward her, raises a quizzical eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Yeah, totally,” she grins. “Uh...wanna watch something on Netflix?”

He lets it go, because he’s a good friend. “Yeah. Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't actually plan to continue this, but these adorable nerds cannot seem to stop. So. Now there's more.  
> Probably there will be more chapters, sort of connected oneshots of just Felicity and Barry hanging out and being ridiculous.
> 
> Feel free to ask for something specifically, in the comments or on tumblr, also @moonlitserenades. :)


End file.
